The Novels of Nora Roberts Volume 1

by Nora Roberts

  “Very shortsighted of her,” Naomi decided.

  “That’s what I said. I’m a prize, right, Kels?” He glanced down at his stepsister and saw that her attention was focused elsewhere. Well, well, he thought, studying Gabe. He hadn’t seen that look in Kelsey’s eyes for a long, long time. “Somebody you know?”

  “Hmmm? Oh.” Distracted, she reached up to adjust the brim of her cap. “Just a neighbor.”

  Gabe broke off his conversation with Jamison and turned to watch them approach. Damn, the woman looked good wet. He shifted his gaze from her to the man with his arm around her shoulder.

  Too young to be competition, he decided. He doubted if the guy was old enough to buy beer. But there was a territorial sense in the drape of the arm and a look in the eyes that was a combination of curiosity and warning.

  The stepbrother, Gabe concluded, and he stepped forward to meet them.

  “Haven’t you dried off yet?” he said to Kelsey, and watched the vague annoyance flit over her face.

  “It’s a new day, Slater. This is Channing Osborne, Gabriel Slater.”

  “It’s nice you could pay your sister a visit.”

  “I thought so.”

  It amused Gabe that Channing increased his grip several unnecessary degrees for the handshake. “How’s the mare, Naomi? I’ve been meaning to come by and take a look myself.”

  “She’s definitely in foal. And healthy. I heard about Three Aces when Matt stopped by yesterday. Is he healing well?”

  Gabe’s thoughts darkened, but his eyes remained placid. “Yeah. He’ll be back in top form in a few weeks.”

  “You’ve got Double or Nothing running today, don’t you?”

  Gabe looked back at Kelsey. Because he wanted to touch her, and to irritate her, he skimmed a knuckle down her cheek. “Keeping track of the competition, darling?”

  “You could say that. Your colt’s running head to head with ours.”

  “Want another side bet? You still owe me ten.”

  “Fine. In the spirit of things, we’ll say . . . double or nothing.”

  “You’re on. Want to take a look at the winner?”

  “I’ve already seen Virginia’s Pride, thanks.”

  He grinned, took her hand. “Come on.”

  As he tugged her away, Channing frowned. “Has that been going on long?”

  “I’m beginning to think so.” Looking after them, Naomi rubbed her wet nose. “Does it worry you?”

  “She took the whole divorce thing hard. I don’t want somebody taking advantage of that. How much do you know about him?”

  “Quite a bit, really.” Naomi sighed. “I’ll fill you in later. Now I suppose we’ll go with them so you can stop worrying.”

  “Good idea.” He glanced down at her as they walked into the barn. “You’re okay, Naomi.”

  Pleased, she took his hand. “So are you, Channing.”

  “You know I want to whip your butt out on the track, Slater, but I am sorry about Three Aces. I don’t suppose there’s anything I can do, but . . .”

  “Fallen for them, haven’t you?”

  Kelsey tipped up her brim to get a better look at him. “For who?”

  “The horses.”

  She shrugged and continued to walk toward the rear of the stables. “So what if I have?”

  “It looks good on you, the way it softens you up.” Deliberately he slowed her down. He wanted another moment before they reached the box. “When are you coming back?”

  She didn’t pretend to misunderstand him, but she did choose to evade. “I’ve been busy. Moses gives us a lot to do.”

  “Would you rather I came to you?”

  “No.” Edgy, she glanced over her shoulder. Naomi and Channing were only a few paces behind. “No,” she repeated. “And this isn’t the time to discuss it.”

  “Do you think your brother would go for my throat if I scooped you up and kissed you right here?”

  “Certainly not.” Dignity was failing her. “But I might.”

  “You’re tempting me, Kelsey.” Instead, he brought her hand to his lips. “Tonight,” he murmured. “I want to see you tonight.”

  “I’ve got company, Gabe. Channing’s visiting.”

  “Tonight,” Gabe repeated. “You come to me, or I come to you. Your choice.” He stopped at the box, keeping her hand in his. “Hello, boy. Ready to . . .” He trailed off as he spotted the line of blood, still red and fresh against the black coat. “Goddammit.”

  He yanked open the door and had hardly taken a step inside before he saw the body crumpled in the bedding.

  “Stay back.” Without looking, he flung out an arm to block Kelsey.

  “What happened to him? The poor thing’s bleeding.” Focused on the colt, she pressed forward. When Gabe was forced to snatch at the halter to keep the horse from rearing, she saw the form sprawled in the bloody hay. “Oh, God. Oh, my God, Gabe.”

  “Hold him!” Snapping out the order, Gabe wrapped Kelsey’s limp fingers around the halter.

  “What is it?” Alarmed by the pallor of Kelsey’s cheeks, Naomi surged forward. The breath hissed between her teeth. “I’ll call an ambulance.” She pressed her hand over Kelsey’s. “Can you handle this?”

  Kelsey blinked, nodded, then cleared her throat. “Yes, yes, I’m all right.” But she was squeamish enough to keep her back to what lay in the corner of the box.

  “Oh, man.” Channing swallowed hard, then put himself between Kelsey and Gabe, who crouched over the body. “I’m only pre-med,” he said quietly, and squatted down. “But maybe . . .”

  It took only one close look to realize that he could have been as skilled and experienced a surgeon as his father had been, and he would still have been helpless.

  There was blood everywhere, pools of it coagulating in the stained hay. The gouge in the back of the skull had welled with it. A bright blue cap, now streaked with red, lay partially under the bedding.

  “That horse must have gone crazy,” Channing said grimly. “Kelsey, get out of here. Get away from him.”

  “No, I’ve got him.” Fighting to keep her breath even, she stroked the colt’s neck. “He’s shaking. He’s terrified.”

  “Dammit. He just killed this guy!”

  “No, he didn’t.” Gabe’s voice was low and hard. He’d gently rolled Mick over. The groom’s pulled-up shirt exposed a vicious stab wound in the abdomen. “But somebody did.”

  * * *

  Later, Kelsey stood shivering in the drizzle trying to pretend she was drinking the coffee Channing had pressed on her.

  “You should get away from here,” he said again. “Let me take you home, or at least inside the clubhouse.”

  “No, I’m all right. I need to wait. That poor man.” She looked away, out into the shedrow. It didn’t seem energetic or glamorous now. It was simply muddy, dreary. People were gathered in tight little groups, eyeing the barn, waiting. “Gabe’s been in there a long time with the police.”

  “He can handle himself.” He glanced over to where Naomi sat on a barrel, under an overhang. “Maybe you should go over with your mother. She looks really spooked.”

  Kelsey stared at the entrance to the barn. She wanted to be in there, to hear what was being said, to know what was being done. “Gabe and I found him,” she murmured. “I feel like I should help.”

  “Then go help Naomi.”

  Kelsey let out a long breath. “All right. You’re right.” But it was hard to walk over, to face that blank look in Naomi’s eyes. “Here.” She held out her untouched coffee. “Brandy’d be better, but I don’t have any handy.”

  “Thanks.” Naomi accepted the cup and forced herself to sip. It had nothing to do with her, she reminded herself again. The police wouldn’t come, they wouldn’t take her away this time. “Poor Mick.”

  “Did you know him very well?”

  “He’s been around a long time.” She sipped again. No, it didn’t have that slapping warmth of brandy, but it helped. “He and Boggs played
gin rummy once a week, gossiping like little old ladies. I guess Mick knew as much about my horses as he knew about Gabe’s. He was loyal.” She drew in a shaky breath. “And he was harmless. I don’t know who could have done this to him.”

  “The police will find out.” After a moment’s hesitation she laid a hand on Naomi’s shoulder. “Do you want me to take you home?”

  “No.” Naomi reached up, covered her daughter’s hand with hers. They both realized it was the first time they’d touched without reservation. “I’m sorry, Kelsey. This is a horrible experience for you.”

  “For all of us.”

  “I would have spared you from it.” She looked up, her eyes meeting Kelsey’s. “I’m not much good under these circumstances.”

  “Then I’ll have to be.” Kelsey turned her hand so that their fingers meshed. Naomi’s were stiff with cold. “You’re going home,” she said firmly. “The police may want to talk to me, so Channing will take you.”

  “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

  “I’m not alone. Gabe’s here, and Moses. Boggs.” She glanced over to where the old man stood alone in the rain, grieving. “It’s pointless for you to stay when you’re so upset. You go home, take a hot bath, and lie down. I’ll come up as soon as I get back.” She softened her tone, leaned closer. “And I don’t want Channing here. He’d feel as if he was doing some manly act if he took you away.”

  “That was a nice touch.” Hating herself for the weakness, Naomi rose. “All right, I’ll go. My being around a crime scene only causes more speculation in any case, but please, don’t stay any longer than you have to.”

  “I won’t. Don’t worry.”

  Alone, Kelsey settled down on the barrel her mother had vacated and prepared to wait.

  It didn’t take long.

  A uniformed officer stepped outside, scanned the groups of people, and focused in on her. “Miss Byden? Kelsey Byden?”

  “Yes.”

  “The lieutenant would like to speak with you. Inside.”

  “All right.” She ignored the speculative looks and slid off the barrel.

  Inside, the routine of death was already under way. The last police photos had been taken, the yellow tape cordoning off the far end of the barn was in place.

  Gabe’s eyes blazed once when he spotted her. “I told you there was no need for her to be here.”

  “You both found the body, Mr. Slater.” Lieutenant Rossi stepped over the tape and nodded to Kelsey. He was a twenty-year veteran of the force with a craggy, handsome face and sharp cop’s eyes. His hair, dark and thick and streaked with dignified gray, was only one of his many vanities. His body was a temple, fueled with vitamins, health juices, and a stringent low-fat diet, and honed by exercise.

  He might spend most of his time behind a desk with a phone at his ear, but it didn’t mean he had to go to seed.

  He loved his work, and thrived on procedure. And he hated murder.

  “Ms. Byden, I appreciate your waiting.”

  “I want to cooperate.”

  “Good. You could start by telling me exactly what happened this morning. You were here since dawn.”

  “That’s right.” She told him everything, from unloading the horses through the morning workouts. “We stayed down at the track awhile. It was my stepbrother’s first trip, and we decided that he might like to watch the horses being prepped for post time.”

  “And that would have been about what time?”

  “Close to noon. Things are quiet between about ten and noon. We walked up here from the track and ran into Gabe. He was in the shedrow, talking to his trainer.”

  She glanced over Rossi’s shoulder to look for him, and saw with dull horror the shiny plastic bag being carried out on a stretcher.

  Cursing under his breath Gabe ducked beneath the tape and blocked her view. “This doesn’t have to be done now. And certainly not here.”

  “No, it’s all right.” Gamely, Kelsey swallowed her nausea. “I’d rather get it over with.”

  “I appreciate that. So, you ran into Mr. Slater just outside here?”

  “Yes. We talked for a few minutes, ragged each other because we had a horse running in the same race. I came in with Gabe to look at his colt. My mother and stepbrother were a little behind us.”

  “Your mother?”

  “Yes. It was actually her horse that was to run against Gabe’s. She owns Three Willows. Naomi Chadwick.”

  “Chadwick.” It rang a distant bell. Rossi jotted it down. “So the four of you came in.”

  “Yes, but they were behind us a bit. They didn’t get to the box until after—after we did. I guess Gabe and I saw the wound on the colt’s left flank at the same time. He went in, and stopped, tried to block me. But I was worried about the colt, so I followed behind him. I saw the blood, and the body in the corner. I held the horse’s head because he was starting to rear, and Channing and Naomi came up. She went right away to call an ambulance and Channing went into the box, thinking, I suppose, that he might be able to help. I thought—I suppose we all thought for a moment—that the horse had done it. Until Gabe turned the body over, and we saw . . .” She would never forget what she’d seen. “We saw he hadn’t. Gabe told Channing to call the police.”

  “And there was no one around the stall when you and Mr. Slater came in.”

  “No. I didn’t see anyone. Some of the grooms were inside, of course. But it was still a little early for prepping.”

  “Did you know the deceased, Ms. Byden?”

  “No. But I’ve only been at Three Willows for a few weeks.”

  “You don’t live there?”

  “No, I live in Maryland. I’m just spending a month or so there.”

  “I’ll need your permanent address for the record, then.” When she gave it to him, he slipped his pad back into his pocket. “I appreciate your time, Ms. Byden. I’d like to talk to your mother and your stepbrother now.”

  “I had Channing take her home. She was very upset.” In an unconscious move, Kelsey shifted her stance, placing her feet a bit wider, straightening her shoulders. “In any case, they were both with me all morning. Neither of them could have seen anything I didn’t.”

  “You’d be surprised what one person sees that another doesn’t. Thank you.” He dismissed her by turning back to Gabe. “My information is that a man named Boggs might have been the last person to see the victim alive. Does he also work for you?”

  “He works for Three Willows.”

  “He’s outside,” Kelsey informed Rossi. “I’ll tell him to come in.” She hurried out, eager to be away from the flat-voiced questions and shrewd eyes. Boggs was where she’d seen him last, simply standing in the rain. “There’s a Lieutenant Rossi who wants to speak to you.” She took his hands, vainly trying to warm them between hers. “I’m so sorry, Boggs.”

  “We was just talking. Just sitting over there and talking. We had a card game on for tonight.” Tears streamed down his face along with the rain. “Who’da done that to him, Miss Kelsey? Who’da done Old Mick that way?”

  “I don’t know, Boggs. Come on, I’ll go in with you.” She slipped her arm around him and guided him back toward the barn.

  “He don’t have no family, Miss Kelsey. A sister, but he hadn’t seen her in more’n twenty years. I’ve got to take care of things for him, see that he gets buried proper.”

  “I’ll take care of it, Boggs.” Gabe stepped outside, intercepting them before they entered. “You tell me what you want him to have, and we’ll arrange it.”

  Boggs nodded. It was only right. “He thought high of you, Mr. Slater.”

  “I thought high of him. Come and see me as soon as you’re able. We’ll set everything up.”

  “He’da appreciated it.” Head bowed, Boggs walked inside.

  “The lieutenant says you’re free to go.” Gabe took Kelsey’s arm and steered her away. “I’ll take you home.”

  “I should wait for Boggs. He shouldn’t be alone now.”


  “Moses will see to him. I want you out of here, Kelsey. Away from it.”

  “I can’t be. I’m as close to it as you are.”

  “You’re wrong.” He half dragged her across the muddy shedrow. “The box is mine. The colt is mine. And, dammit, Mick was mine.”

  “Slow down!” She dug in her heels and managed to grab him by the jacket. He might have shown little more than a flare or two of emotion inside the barn, but he was on slow burn now and ready for flash point. No cool gambler’s eyes now, she thought. They were hot and lethal.

  “You’re getting out of here now. And you’re staying out of it.”

  She could have argued. She certainly could have struggled against the grip he had on her arm. But she waited until they’d reached his car.

  Then she simply turned and wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t do this to yourself,” she murmured.

  He held himself rigid, prepared to jerk away and shove her into the car. “Do what?”

  “Don’t blame yourself, Gabe.”

  “Who else?” But his body relaxed, and curled itself to hers. He pressed his face into the cool, damp comfort of her hair. “Jesus, Kelsey, who else am I going to blame? He was trying to protect my horse.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  “I feel it.” He drew her away. His eyes were calmer now, but whatever was going on just behind that deep, cool blue had Kelsey trembling. “And I’m going to find whoever did this to him. Whatever it takes.”

  “The police—”

  “Work their way. I work mine.”

  CHAPTER

  TEN

  DEATH COULDN’T INTERFERE WITH THE ROUTINE OF A THOROUGHBRED farm. Not the death of a horse, or a man. Dawn still signaled workouts. There were races to be run, legs to be wrapped, coats to be quartered and strapped. Talk around the paddocks or shedrow at sunrise might have been of murder and Old Mick, but the pace didn’t flag. It couldn’t.

  There was a foal with a case of eczema, a yearling filly who still refused a rider, and a colt competing in a maiden race. Grieving and gossip had to be accomplished while filling feed tubs and walking hots.